Will O' The Wisp
by Mini Nephthys
Summary: Fate/zero and Fate/extra.  Something like a glitch in the system drags Waver and his Servant into a bizarre world with its own Holy Grail War, as if his first hadn't been difficult enough.  Future Zero Rider x Waver.


Waver is aware of a few things.

That's not completely true. He knows many things, like the year he was born, how long he's had Fujimura Taiga as a teacher, and the argument he had with Matou Shinji last month. It's just that when he tries to remember specific details about anything past this morning, the memories go fuzzy at the edges, and all he comes up with are facts that seem more like they're being handed to him than that he lived through them.

He is aware of a few things, however, undeniably.

One: the student council president should not talk about the weather with an expression better used for talking about the terrible, dirty things he's going to do to him later. Possibly involving whips and chains. Waver decides not to think about this any longer.

Two: Matou Shinji really gets on his nerves. Of course they're friends, Shinji had said so, but all Waver actually feels is the desire to insult his arrogance.

Three: this transfer student, Leonardo Halway, gets on his nerves even more, although he's nothing but polite and courteous. For some reason, the one who's from a prestigious family is so aggravating that Waver can barely stand to look at him. He reminds Waver of- of-

Well, he reminds Waver of someone he used to know. This is the opposite - he knows he remembers something, but what it is can't be determined right now.

On that note, there are a lot of people showing up that Waver doesn't feel at all right about. The teacher in the black coat that would look ridiculous if Waver didn't understand intuitively that laughing would be a terrible idea. The white-haired girl looking as if she came from the pages of a picture book, the dark-skinned girl talking about destroying the garden... Matou Sakura, who Waver recalls is demure without being able to think of any examples, begins to speak in tongues and drives off her brother in terror.

All of these things, too, should have more depth to them, but what's going on is indistinct. Waver knows he should be able to devote time and panic to each of these people and events, but something keeps them from feeling real.

He's still annoyed by Leonardo Halway, right up until the point where he walks through a wall. Not to be outdone, Waver follows into a room with no distinguishing features other than a manikin.

"Welcome, new Master candidate."

For some reason, the voice that comes out of nowhere isn't as startling as the feeling Waver gets upon hearing 'Master'. The rest of the words blur together, and there's no surprise in him when the doll begins to follow him into a room filled with stained glass windows and corpses of his fellow students, accompanied by similar dolls. He should feel shock or at least sadness at the deaths of people he knows and goes to school with, but... he doesn't know them, really.

One of the manikins stands up.

He watches, helplessly, as his own doll is overwhelmed. There should be something he could do to interfere, because he's not just an ordinary student, he-

The moment his doll collapses, so does he. There's barely any pain, but he still can't move. This feeling is like one of - that person's video games. An enemy defeated doesn't feel pain when the pixels disappear, but they won't ever get up or exist again.

Give up?

Of course he won't give up. Waver isn't someone to be discarded like that. Whatever troubles he's having with the world right now, he's a person, and has every right to keep going. He struggles, but he still can't move.

Give up?

He struggles with all his might. He can't let go of his life like this, not without putting all his effort into holding on. It may be beyond his reach, but he'll try. Because, he made a promise to the most important person that he would live-

"Really, kid, I didn't expect to see you this bad." A deep, rumbling voice interrupts his thoughts. "It's ridiculous to keep going like that. I can't let anybody else be the Servant of someone like you."

He snaps without thinking. "Idiot, if you're going to call me ridiculous, then just help!"

A window breaks, and the world sharpens into reality. Waver remembers.

His full name is Waver Velvet, and he's English rather than Japanese like everyone assumed. He left high school years ago, and was born into a magus family of a few generations. He studied at Clock Tower, and stole a summoning artifact from his teacher in order to participate in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, Japan, which he managed to survive despite not winning. He stood tall in front of Gilgamesh and lived. He enjoys reading, hates trying to cook, and a million other irrelevant details he would never have been able to recall a minute ago spring to his mind as easily as they should.

And that giant of a man before him, whose smile is the same as always, whose hand is extended to help pull him to his feet, that man is...

"Rider." He's sure that later he'll be embarrassed by how thrilled he sounds, but he can't help it. He takes Rider's hand and pulls himself up. The Command Seals that appear on his hand are exactly the same as the last time they were there, a reassurance. "Rider, I..."

The sound of the doll getting ready to attack keeps him from saying anything too stupid. Waver shakes his head. "Take care of this first, and then we'll find out what's going on."

Rider lets go of him and draws his sword. "Something like this isn't even a worthy opponent."

Waver plans to catch his breath first before watching the battle. He realizes his mistake in assuming the battle would last more than two seconds when wood clatters to the floor and Rider turns back to him expectantly. Quickly, he decides on the first of his many, many questions. "Why do you remember who I am? A Servant shouldn't remember anything from their previous summonings."

Rider shrugs. "That's something strange to say considering that you didn't remember who I was until I called out to you."

"Good point. Then, the next question." Waver scowls at the room surrounding them, filled with dolls and bodies. "What on earth is going on here?"


End file.
